There is no doubt that Arsenal are coming out of the terrible run of injuries that wrecked our Premier League title challenge last season and carried on into the beginning of this one. Not including Abou Diaby, there are now just four first team Gunners out of action; with Mesut Ozil, David Ospina, Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Debuchy remaining on the Arsenal injury list.
And three of those are expected to be available for selection again soon, with the France international right back Debuchy the latest to give a positive update on his recovery progress, as reported by Arsenal.com. And the French defender revealed that he is already working with the physio to get back into condition for a return to the pitch next month.
That means that Debuchy could be in line to make his Arsenal comeback against the club we signed him from this summer, as Newcastle United come to the Emirates on Saturday December the 13th. Debuchy has been out of action for two months now, since damaging his ankle in the game against Man City and he has been a big loss for us, especially since Laurent Koscielny joined him in the treatment room.
Debuchy admits that it has been very frustrating to pick up this injury so early in his Arsenal career, but he is also confident that he will come back strongly, declaring that the quality of players in the Arsenal squad and training them was already helping to make him a better player.
The Frenchman said, “My injury is now better. I work hard every day with the physio and I want to be back on the pitch in December. I’m looking forward to it.
“I was really proud when I signed for Arsenal and it has been frustrating getting injured so soon, but I am focused on coming back stronger. I am very positive about that.
“Training at Arsenal is an extremely high standard. I’m nearly 30 but I’m still improving by training with players who are of such a high quality, like everyone at Arsenal.
“It’s been more frustrating watching from the stands than being on the pitch. The last two games have been quite positive (Really??? ADMIN) and hopefully when we face Manchester United we’ll come out on top.”
It will certainly be a big boost for Arsenal to have our first choice right back on the pitch, because Calum Chambers will then be available to cover at the centre of defence or even start to play the odd game in front of the back four, as some think that the youngster could end up being an answer to our defensive midfield issue.
But firstly, having a full strength back four should help the Gunners to start putting the slow start to the season behind us.